Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 21 Doubts on the Plain
After the joy of the reunion passed, the people who came later also felt unbearably thirsty.

So everyone—go straight to the Guamini River.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, they came to the horse fence again.The piles of dead wolves told everyone how fierce the battle was last night.

After drinking enough water, everyone began to eat and drink in the horse pen.Those are delicious dishes, and they are even more wonderful for these hungry people. "I'm sorry for the lack of food!" Paganel said excitedly.

The place of right and wrong cannot stay for long.So Glenarvan gave the order to start on time at ten o'clock.

The leather buckets were filled with water, and everyone started on the road again.Both humans and horses are full of food and drink, so the speed on the road is extremely fast.The moisture in the land was not there before in arid areas, but the road was still untouched.

On November 11nd and 2rd, nothing happened.

On the night of the 3rd, they stayed at the end of the pampas, on the border of the province of Buenos Aires.

自10月14日离开太平洋岸边，到今天已X 天了。在这X 天他们总共走了450英里，2／3的路程已走过去。

The next day they entered the plains of Argentina.The Argentine plains mainly belong to the province of Buenos Aires.The province of Buenos Aires is also the largest of the 14 administrative provinces in Argentina.

The plains of Argentina have fertile land, criss-cross rivers, dense and lush vegetation, and a mild climate.All these make this plain near 90° east longitude the only geomantic treasure on the South American continent.

The temperature here is generally below 17°.Those travelers who have just come from the sweltering heat suddenly enter this pleasant refreshing, and even breathing becomes easier.Everyone is in a very good mood at the moment.Glenarvan hoped to find the Indian chief who had captured Captain Grant and his companions in this area.However, contrary to what Tarcaf said, there is no human habitation here.

Either they've all moved away, or there's never been one.

The 37° south latitude line passes through many swamps and lakes.Some lakes are salty, while others are fresh.On the shore of the lake, there are light wrens, happy larks, red-bellied starlings, and "Tangara" that can pause in the air... In the thorn bushes, the "Anu bird" hangs The nests were like colonial white hammocks; and the nests of the ibises with their fiery red wings were foot-high conical structures piled on top of each other like a town.

Whenever people approached them, Toki did not rush away.Paganel said with great regret: "I haven't seen an ibis fly for a long time."

"It's not difficult to do."

replied the major. "Now is a great opportunity!"

"Use it quickly, Paganel."

"Come on, Major. And Robert! I need someone to testify." The caravan moved on.

The major and Robert followed Paganel towards the group of ibis over there.

Coming closer, Paganel loaded the gun—he did not load it, for such a beautiful creature should not have been killed in such cruel ways.

There was a bang gunshot, and groups of ibis screamed and flew up.Paganel, holding a telescope in his hand, observed it carefully. "See it?" asked Paganel, when the birds were out of sight. "Of course. Not all blind people can see."

"Then do they fly like arrows?"

"Not like."

"It can't be compared at all." Robert also agreed with the major. "Of course I don't think so either!" Paganel said proudly, "However, one of my fellow villagers, Chateaubriand, used an arrow to describe an ibis!"

"Robert, you have to be careful that literary metaphors are not reliable! You should never believe any metaphor lightly, except in the last resort."

"Another experiment, are you satisfied?" said the major.

"Very satisfied." "I am also very satisfied. Come on now, your Chateaubriand has left us a mile behind!" They caught up with the caravan, just in time for Tarcafe and Grenard. Fan struggled to make gestures because they couldn't understand each other!Takaf stopped several times to look at the distant horizon, and every time he looked at it, he always had a surprised expression on his face.Since Paganel was not with him, Glenarvan went up to him and asked him what was the matter, but Tarcaf couldn't understand what he said anyway.

Seeing that Paganel and the others had caught up, Glenarvan immediately called out:
"Come on, Paganel!"

Paganel and Tarcave exchanged only a few words, and then said to Glenarvan:

"Takaf saw a particularly strange phenomenon."

"What is it?"

"There is no one! There are no Indians anymore! Before this time, there were always many Indians coming and going on the plains, grazing, going to market, or roosting. But now not only are there no people in sight, but even the slightest trace of them." nor!"

"What does Tarcaf think this is?"

"He didn't know either, he was just very surprised."

"Who did he think we'd meet here?"

"That tribe of Indians who captured the Europeans."

"Who is their chief?"

"Kafjola, Catelliol, Janshtruz. Their power was supreme 30 years ago. They were driven to the Pampas and Argentine plains, and they wandered in this area , specializing in robbers. But today I didn’t even see their shadows!”

"Then what should we do now?"

"I'll ask him," replied Paganel to Glenarvan.So he went on to talk to Tarcaf a few more words.

"His opinion--I agree with him--we continue eastward. On the 37° line, there is Fort Independence. When we get there, if we don't hear anything from Captain Grant, then we will know the Indian The reason why people disappeared."

"How far is Independence from here?" asked Glenarvan.

"Sixty miles." "When can I get there?" "The night after tomorrow."

Glenarvan accepted the proposal with a heavy heart at the moment.He thought here was the most hopeful place to get news from Captain Grant!

Once it passes, the opportunity may be missed.However, the Indians here are gone again!

What was it that made them all leave here?There is no other way for the time being, so we have to wait until Independence Fort according to Tarcaf's opinion.

At 4:[-] p.m., a hill suddenly appeared on the horizon.

That night they camped at the foot of the mountain.The next day, they crossed the hill without much effort; those who have crossed the Andes don't pay attention to such sand hills at all.

In fact, their speed was hardly affected at all.At noon, they arrived at Fort Tabalcon.This is one of a series of bunkers built by the Aboriginal people to prevent robbers.

There was no one here either, which surprised Takaf even more.Presently there appeared on the plain three men on horseback with guns slung, looking at them; and when the brigade approached them, they flew away again.

This made Glenarvan very angry. "It's a gaucho."

Takaf said.Once the Major and Paganel had quarreled over the title. "Ah, gauchos! Paganel. Who do you think they are, with no north wind blowing today?" asked the major. "Like a robber," replied Paganel.

"What is the difference between 'like a robber' and 'is a robber'?" the major continued.

"Almost, my dear major," Paganel said, and everyone laughed.And Paganel was not angry, and he went on to say to Tarcaf: "I read from a book that the Arab's mouth is fierce, but his eyes are very gentle. And what we have seen Humans are the exact opposite, their eyes look particularly evil!"

Hearing him say that any professional interviewer who interviews Indians will not be more eloquent than Paganel.So Takaf asked everyone to move forward together to prevent accidental attacks.In this way, until dark, nothing happened.So they lived in an abandoned stockade by the Indians.Takaf checked the place very carefully, and finally found that no one has been here for a long, long time!The next day they continued on the plain.

Passed by several large pastures, but did not stop.Because Takaf was in a hurry to go to Fort Independence, he really wanted to know why there was no one here.

The team moved on.At this time, there are more trees on the plain, such as peach trees, poplar trees, willow trees, neem trees, and bean flower trees, forming forests in patches and growing very well.

Trees in general must surround the pasture.There are cows, sheep, and horses in the ranch, each of which has the owner's mark on them, and there are shepherd dogs guarding them.Thousands of livestock, but only a few managers.

These shepherds live an out-and-out idyllic life, but they have no family, so they lack some family happiness.

These are all explained by Paganel himself, and told to his companions.His words aroused everyone's interest, and the mirage that appeared in the distance pushed everyone's interest to a climax again.In the far horizon, there seem to be many islands; the surrounding trees reflect their wonderful shadows in the clear water.But when you go in and out, you will never be able to get close to that wonderful illusion.

On November 11th, they witnessed the spectacle of the mirage several times, and passed the livestock slaughterhouse several times.

The work of slaughtering livestock is generally carried out in late spring.The first is to go to the pasture to catch the livestock with a "lazy line", and then rush to the slaughterhouse.

Whether it is bulls, cows, bulls or sheep, hundreds of them are killed once!
As long as it is killed, it is peeled and fleshed.Those butchers were skilled and dangerous; and with danger came their cruelty.The resistance and wailing of the livestock and the accuracy and ruthlessness of their knives form a horrible picture that is unbearable to watch.The fresh air is filled with the stench of blood, the hideous laughter of the butchers, the barking of sheep and dogs, the flies flying in the sky, and the hawks of prey that come from thousands of miles away to eat carrion, all of these , constitutes a living hell just right and complete!

However, whenever Glenarvan passed these slaughterhouses, it was always quiet inside, with no one and no livestock.

All these strange signs have increased the doubts deep in Takaf's heart.He urged everyone to hurry up, hurry up, and anyway, they must rush to Fort Independence today and night.

Under the urging of their masters, everyone's horses, especially Taojia as an example, galloped quickly in the tall grass.

Occasionally, I met a few families on the road, and every house was built with high walls; there were weapons on the high platform, ready to meet the incoming enemy at any time.

Glenarvan still thought that there might be some news from these people's families; but let's go straight to Fort Independence!
They waded across the Lohuiso and the Shabarev.Soon they came to the foot of Mount Tandil.After another hour, the village of Tandil could be clearly seen.The village is in the col, and above the col is Fort Independence.

(End of this chapter)